A Liddle Good News – Page 11 – The Wycliffe ministry of David and Katherine Liddle

Playing catch-up, and maybe adding mayonnaise

The last time I wrote here was in July. The pace of life for us here is so normal, or so slow, that there doesn’t seem to be much to report to those who follow our ministry to Wycliffe and our life that surrounds it. Let me get you caught up on the past few months, ending with the inspiration for the title. (Which means that you’ll either skip to the end or read the whole thing.)

Baker Street Station — We couldn’t resist the urge to capture these two scoundrels in such a well-known place.

In July, we had the benefit of a two-week vacation to Scotland and London with Katherine’s parents. It was relaxing and fun. No one wanted to come home to Germany.

Shortly after we returned, J left for ten days of summer camp. A few days after that, Katherine and C left for their summer camp. (Katherine worked on the kitchen crew; she hasn’t been a camper for a while.) I stayed at home, cleaned, and enjoyed the quiet house.

J prepares to set the ball to one of his teammates.

School began soon after camp ended. The elder boy is in 7th grade and the younger in 6th. So far, they enjoy their classes and teachers quite a lot. In our area, sports aren’t associated with the schools, but both boys are involved in volleyball with the local athletic club, and C plays for the local soccer club. You can see from the last picture that he’s taking up a new interest as well.

For a while now, Katherine has been volunteering a few times each month in the library at the boys’ school. This year, she also began working in the library that Wycliffe Germany maintains. The holdings consist of resources for languages, linguistics, translation, and exegesis.

They’re used by Wycliffe members on furlough, doing home study, or who work close enough for the shipping costs to be reasonable. Katherine is now the main contact for the library and works several hours there each week. It’s a great fit for her, and she enjoys it.

Next week, C is going to be heading to the allergist’s office here for a thrilling endeavor. Tests measuring his sensitivity to eggs have given results low enough to warrant a food challenge. His loving and skilled mother will bake him some goody that contains eggs. Then they’ll journey together out to the children’s hospital where the allergist is located. Under the watchful eyes of ready medical staff, C will test whether or not his body can tolerate the stuff. We’re all both excited and nervous!

So, when you pray to the Lord our God on our behalf, please pray for our son to be relieved of this burdensome and dangerous threat to his health. And pray for Katherine to have wisdom that will help her make the library’s resources more accessible to people who could benefit from them.

A different kind of post

There are many people who don’t like to read the first section of the Christian Bible that’s called the Old Testament. I’m not one of them; I rather like it. It helps me feel connected to the long flow of humanity who are God’s people.

Whether you’ve read the OT or not, there’s a good change that you’ve heard of the Levites. I’m not going to give you their full history here, but instead point out just a few things:

They served God full-time and received their living from Israel’s other tribes.
Their duties were divided among the three clans of the tribe.

One of these clans was called the Merarites. These are the folks I identify with the most. Read this from Numbers 3:

The descendants of Merari were composed of the clans descended from Mahli and Mushi. There were 6,200 males one month old or older among these Merarite clans. They were assigned the area north of the Tabernacle for their camp. The leader of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail. These two clans were responsible for the care of the frames supporting the Tabernacle, the crossbars, the pillars, the bases, and all the equipment related to their use. They were also responsible for the posts of the courtyard and all their bases, pegs, and ropes.

(Numbers 3:33-37, New Living Translation)

Full-time. Frames, posts, ropes, and stuff. Zuriel, I am totally with you, brother.

I just wish that the infrastructure that I take care of with my fellow Technites was Network spaghetti as simple as Zuriel’s.

The Tabernacle was at the center of the Israelite camp. One thing that is close to the center of Wycliffe’s existence – and, for that matter, the center of many organizations, companies, and, oh, human relationships – is communication.

For 138 years, the telephone has served humanity as an efficient means of communication. Over that time, the basic concept hasn’t changed, but things sure look different under the hood now. If Bell and Marconi could see us now!

Last fall, our office purchased a new phone system to replace an aging one that was causing occasional problems. “Last fall?” you ask, “Why are you telling us now?”

Blinkenlichten The answer has to do with the timing of fiscal years and, uh, my complete inexperience with phone systems, whether modern or ancient. Progress in configuring our new-fangled contraption went slowly as I learned and experimented. Eventually, I was ready for us to order the new phones that would go with the thing. Thankfully, it’s a small office, and I was able to put the system and the phones into service this spring.

There are a few chief benefits to this phone system. First, it provides voice mail and email notifications to our well-traveled staff. Second, our staff members can connect their computers to the phone system over the Internet and use it to make calls at much better rates. And thirdly, we can eventually integrate interested offices in other parts of Europe so that it’s easier and cheaper to stay in touch. We are, after all, here to ensure their success in peopling and financing the Bible translation effort.

So here I sit in my office, a more comfortable little command center than Zuriel ever enjoyed. Behind me is one screen that lets me tell the network how to move data to the phones and power them. The other helps me to easily manage the phone system and the phones themselves. (Black phone new, white phone old.)

I don’t have to haul physical posts and stands from one campsite to the next. The infrastructure I handle is different in this age. Instead, it’s a pile of plastic, metal, and wire that I set up to make sure that the fundamental need for telecommunications in place. Thanks to the new system, the people I serve can move campsites and – so long as they have an Internet connection – still stay in touch.

Nothing to write home about?

A dear fellow who was one of my co-workers back in Dallas wrote to me – some time ago now – that it had been a while since I had written anything. He was right. And he was very kind to put it so mildly.

I like to distinguish between the terms reason and excuse. To use myself as an example, there are reasons why I haven’t written, but there are no excuses for the absence of communication. I hope that makes it clear.

Why am I sad? Because I've been a bad boy. The newsletter that we sent out last fall summarized our first two years here. I just read it again, and I think it was a fair description. What’s not fair is for you who care about our lives and our work to hear from us every two years, or nine months, or whatever gap causes you to ask, “I wonder whatever became of the Liddles?” or “I wonder how the Liddles are doing?”

I’m not going to try to use this space to give yet another belated summary of a long gap in time. Over the next week, though, I’m going to – I’m really, really going to – alternate between writing about our work and describing our
home life to give you the insight into our Wycliffe ministry that you deserve.

For those of you who pray to the Lord our God for us – you patient, forbearing souls – please pray for the fortitude I need to set aside time to write as I should for people who care.